[solidasparagus]

I think it's unlikely that Stallman would consider a hosted offering of Canvas to be 'free software'. But I agree with you that it can be both SaaS and free.

Although at that point I question what advantage free software gives you - you can't change it and you are still at the mercy of the hosting company since you aren't able to host it yourself.

[michaelmrose]

Paying someone to run something you can and in the future could run yourself could in theory be wholly compatible with the ideals of free software and user freedom.